Girl gang terrorised old women

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A group of five teenage girls have been accused of a wave of vicious attacks against old women in Stockholm. Fifteen women have been mugged by the gang, according to police.

The girls, aged 17 and 18, have been remanded in custody for attacking the women in Tensta and Rinkeby, suburbs of the capital. Their victims, mostly in their seventies and eighties, were usually mugged outside their homes, reports Aftonbladet.

In one of the muggings, the girls stole a 71-year-old's handbag and pushed her down a flight of steps. In another case, a 78-year old woman was pushed to the ground and kicked where she lay.

The girls worked in groups of two or three and wore veils during the attacks, making it harder for the police to identify them. Police were aided in identifying the girls after they took photos of each other at a wedding using a stolen mobile phone.

Two of the girls have denied all charges against them, while the other three have made partial admissions.

One of the girls admitted pushing over an old woman and stealing her handbag, but said she did so because the woman used racial insults against her. She also claims that another of the accused girls kept forcing snow into a victim's mouth until she let go of her handbag, Aftonbladet writes.